Moving On
by Pretty Pirate
Summary: Post 6x12. Killian confesses to David.


**A/N: Hey peeps! Long time no see, I know.**

 **I just couldn't resist after watching the last episode, I had to get this off my head to get out of CaptainCharming-Angst-Land and get back to the living world(I really hope I can do that now).**

 **Anyways, hope you like it :)**

* * *

 **Moving On**

There was a knock on the door.

David looked at the clock. It was pretty late, and he wondered who would be coming at this time. He opened the door, only to reveal Hook, looking very troubled and... guilty?

"Hook? Is everything okay?" He asked, opening the door so he could come in.

He didn't respond immediately, he walked in slowly, anxious, hesitant, and refusing to meet David's eyes.

He was struggling to say whatever he had come here to. This made David even more concerned.

"Killian, hey," he said, reassuringly placing a hand on his shoulder, "whatever it is, just say it. You don't have to worry about me judging you or anything."

Killian took a deep breath, and took out some papers from his back pocket. "August dropped by to give these. Thought you would want them."

Curious, David took the pages and read through them, but there was nothing they didn't already know. This evidently wasn't what was bothering him.

"This isn't why you're here, is it?" he asked.

"No." He replied. "When I saw these pages, I discovered something else. Your father's story doesn't end there. King George ordered him to be killed, but before his men could carry out the order they were interrupted."

Killian took a shaky breath and closed his eyes. "By a pirate captain and his crew. The captain killed everyone in sight, including the poor man begging for mercy, whose only crime was to bear witness to a murder."

It was only after a few seconds that he could muster up the courage to open his eyes and look at David.

Disbelief. Anger. Disappointment. Disgust.

He wished he hadn't seen, but he knew that he deserved this.

"What are you trying to say?" David hissed.

His voice was barely a whisper, "I killed your father."

David was gripping the table hard enough to crack it.

Killian tried to apologize feebly, even knowing it would only anger him more. "I'm - "

"Don't." David didn't shout, but he might as well have. "Just... Get out of here."

David turned away, refusing to look at him. He heard the door close moments later.

He fought the urge to punch or throw something and sat down, mainly to avoid waking Neal.

He was angry, very angry and frustrated. But at whom? It didn't take a lot of soul searching to know it wasn't at Hook.

It wasn't as if it was Hook's elaborate strategy to ruin his life, he didn't know the truth himself until that very day. And, well, his father would have died that day whether or not Hook was there. His fate was sealed the moment he stood up against king George, Hook just ended up being the vessel of its action.

No, he decided, his anger wasn't directed towards a person; he was angry at fate itself, and the humour it seemed to find in his life, the irony that his father's murder occured at the hands of the same person who would be his daughter's true love and someone he would come to see as a friend.

To think that only minutes ago everything was returning to a pleasant normalcy. Now... He didn't know what was going to happen. He didn't know if he could ever get past this, ever look at Hook and not see his father's murderer.

At some point of his brooding, Emma called.

"Is my boyfriend having a sleepover with you guys?" She chirped, and he could hear the smile in her voice. As a father, it saddened him that happiness was so uncharacteristic of Emma.

"No," he replied, unsure what else to say to her.

"Oh... He went to talk to you, and isn't back yet. He came by, right? Did you two have a fight?" Despite being worried, there was a hint of amusement in her question, and David decided to let her stay in the bubble of her happiness for as long as it lasts.

"Er, yes, we kind of did. I think I know where he'll be, I'll go talk to him." He assured her.

"Okay then. Better sort it out quick, and tell that pirate if he comes late, he's sleeping on the couch." David almost smiled.

All it took was a conversation with his daughter to set his course.

* * *

Killian was leaning against the rail at the docks, flask in his hand, looking out towards the sea.

David joined him, and he froze.

For a few moments, both men just stood there quietly.

David finally broke the silence. "That's not really good for you, mate." It wasn't quite the casual tone he was aiming for, but it was a start.

It took Killian a few moments before he replied. "It's water. Emma cleared out my rum stash."

David gave a dry chuckle, but Killian couldn't quite smile back. They lapsed back into silence.

"So... what now?" Killian asked after a moment, "Should I start preparing to leave?"

"So quick to give up on Emma?" David asked.

Killian took another swig, and grimaced, before replying. "You and I both know I don't deserve her, now more than ever. Once I tell her, she'll hate me too."

David sighed. "I don't hate you."

Killian snorted bitterly, and David shook his head.

"Okay, maybe I am angry at your actions, and I hate the fact that it was you hand that took my father's life. But I can't really hate you."

"Then you very well should." Killian said.

"I can't," David repeated, "because I know no matter how much I try, I can never hate you for your past actions as much as you hate yourself for them."

He let that sink in before continuing. "I meant what I said earlier, Killian, you've changed. You've shown remorse for every mistake you made, and while it doesn't undo what you did, it does allow us to move on from it. And that's what I want to do, move on."

"So... you forgive me?" He asked, pretty much in disbelief.

David took a moment before he nodded. It wasn't as simple as that, of course, but maybe this is what Killian needed to forgive himself. Maybe this is what they both needed to move on.

David sighed and stepped away from the rail. "Better get a move on now, I need to wake Snow. And just so you know, Emma threatened you with the couch."

His casual tone wasn't quite as forced anymore, and neither was Killian's smile.


End file.
